Tag Archives: health

I am bad at eating healthy. Really bad. Part of me never grew out of my five-year old eating habits that include chicken tenders, fries, and ketchup. Seriously, I could eat that meal everyday. Liking meals that are very simple plus not really liking any kind of vegetables creates sort of a problem. My plates tend to be made up of chicken, bread, potatoes, and chocolate. It’s not any surprise that I struggle to provide my body with adequate nutrition.

This is where MyFitnessPal (MFP) comes into my life. MFP will help you whether you have a weight-loss goal or not. Even if you are maintaining your current weight or trying to build muscle it is helpful! Are you aware of what you are putting into your body every day?

MFP also makes it easy by saving your regular foods. If you are a creature of habit you can save meals or choose from your recent list to add things you eat regularly. Adding food is quick and easy. If what you are eating has a barcode all you have to do is scan it and it is added to your meal for the day. Also, if the food is not in MFP but you have the nutritional information you can add it in manually and share it with other MFP users for their use! You can also track exercise and water in MFP.

Tracking food personally keeps me more accountable not to overeat or undereat; it really puts into perspective my daily goals and if I am eating a normal amount. I try to space out my meals and supplement small meals with snacks. It makes me more aware of the meals that I struggle to eat an adequate amount but also aware of meals that are excessively large (AKA anytime I eat out). It also reminds me to limit cookies and treats (sometimes). The percentage feature helps me know if I am getting the right amount of nutrients!

One thing about my food logging on MFP is that it is not perfect. I am sure I over estimate or underestimate portions sometimes. I never try to exactly measure what I eat but use the app as a guide for healthy eating and for portion control. I learned the hard way to look up food before ordering it at a restaurant (AKA The Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at Chilis). It’s amazing how quickly calories can add up if you are not paying attention to what you are eating. Throughout this whole year I hope to be committed to logging on MFP.

Add me on MFP if you want to be friends and hold each other accountable! Have you had success with MFP or another app? What do you do to stay healthy?

Like this:

It used to be really easy to prioritize anything and everything BUT exercise. In the past, when life got busy, exercise was the first thing to go. Since starting graduate school running has provided “me-time” and proved something I wanted to keep on my calendar.

Running early in the morning is the best! Sweaty & hot in the Georgia humidity

August is a crazy month for many professions, including student affairs. August means students returning to college campuses and includes activities such as RA training, move-in, welcome week programs, organization retreats, the beginning of class, and much more. I am training for a half marathon and did not want to let August get in the way of my training plan, so here’s what I did:

I prepared for my training presentations in advance and went to bed early every night.

I woke up early (5 am early) to run every morning. My speed workouts are at 5:30 am on Wednesdays so it was not a major adjustment.

Now, some of my dedication was a little crazy – I probably should have slept in after the all-night duty call…. But running and this training plan have provided me an outlet for relaxation and de-stressing.

Thanks Evan!

My commitment to running the past three weeks is proof that I can find time to run during the busiest times. It was also helpful to have an accountability buddy. I owe a lot of this to my friend Evan for making sure I was downstairs to meet him at 5:15 am every morning. My August philosophy was a little different than my experience this summer. Read my post about adjusting to a hectic June schedule when I was working Orientation at UNCG.

What works best for you to stay healthy during busy times? Do you prefer to exercise in the morning or at night? No matter how busy you are, try to do “just enough to stay sane.” And even if it’s training week or move-in, put your health first when you can!